Valentine’s Day

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Getting Married: 16 Weeks – More Random

Ok, ok. I know I’m behind. I totally had a great post in mind for 16 Weeks, but then time just went crazy and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to write it how I wanted, so it’s on hold. Here’s what we’ve got going on though.

I am so not a cook. I can bake up a storm, but cooking…eesh. I think it’s because there are no real set rules. There are loosely put together guidelines. I like rules. I like formulas. I loved Chemistry because things had to go in a specific way in order to get the right result. Baking is Chemistry. Cooking is…well, I don’t know…not a science that’s for sure. It’s more of an art form and while I love art and being creative, food is not a medium I’m well-versed in yet.

While we were visiting Matt’s grandma, she told me that she could barely cook anything when she first got married. She is such an incredible cook now. I told her, in my most Anne of Green Gables fashion, “You have given me hope beyond anything I could have imagined. I will always remember you as a benefactress.”

By the way, I’m in the fourth book of that series, Anne of Windy Poplars. It’s a sweet book. I love all the chapters that are just letters she’s writing to Gilbert. And how it shows where sections were omitted because Anne had just the right pen for writing love to him.

Back to food. I tried to make a pork chop dinner for Matt and I the other weekend. It was…alright. I think Matt liked it, but I know that it didn’t come out alright. Timing is such a hard thing. Mine and his mom encouraged me that it does take practice to get the timing of meals down. I will not lose heart. Matt says that he is looking forward to me learning how to cook. I reminded him that I will fail quite a bit, but he said he didn’t mind. We’ll see how that goes. There’s a pizza place and Subway just down the road. We might keep them in business – all by ourselves.

We got our invitations back from the printer so now I’m working on stamping them. It’s a process. I did a bunch of stamping while listening to the State of the Union address the other night. It helped me have the right amount of pressure to get the stamps pretty well even. I get fired up sometimes. And John Boehner and Joe Biden’s exchanges of looks were quite amusing. Usually with Biden grinning widely and then catching Boehner’s eye and slowly dropping his smile and clapping slower. It was humorous. Boehner’s eyes were daggers over his glass of water at times. I can talk about him like that because he’s from around here.

I have just 45 mins to finish Matt’s Valentine’s Day gift. Last year, I made him a cake loaf with red and pink heart sprinkles in the batter and icing. It was yummy. I’ve not had much practice with Valentine’s Day, so I’m still a little rough around the edges.

I scheduled my dress fitting! Now, I just have to get my hair scheduled and I’ll feel a little better about my appointments.

We had our first premarital counseling last night. It was mostly about the order of operations for the ceremony. It ended with me all jittery inside – in a good way. 🙂 I’m so looking forward to it and I’m hoping that we can fit everything in that we want to without making it too long. We’ve got some good ideas, but I will not stress about it. I.Will.Not.

This is the book we will be using during our counseling:

The Most Important Year in a Man's/Woman's Life

The Most Important Year in a Man’s/Woman’s Life

I’m pretty jazzed about it. I want to take it, and highlight, and write notes in the margins, and then keep it on my bookshelf for forever and ever and ever amen.

That’s all I’ve got for today. Now I have 30 mins. Eek!

Catch ya later!!

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I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!

My Pinterest Wedding Board

Our Wedding Website on WeddingWire.com

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Review: Paint by the Glass – West Chester, OH

 

A month or so ago, I logged into my email and found a Groupon in Cincinnati, OH for Paint by the Glass in West Chester, OH.  I had never heard of this place, but I love painting and upon reading more information, I was pretty sure I’d have a good time.

Here are the specs: 

Paint by the Glass
8179 Princeton-Glendale Rd.
Suite G.
West Chester, OH 45069
(on 747, it’s across from the Kroger)
513.874.1101
Facebook

The schedule really varies, so I’m not going to put their hours up.  Generally, the adult classes are in the evenings and the kids classes in the afternoon (2pm) but you’ll have to go to the website to check out the calendar.  The calendar features which painting they are working on which night, so you can choose the class you’d prefer to attend. 

My friend, Lanna and I went the Saturday before Valentine’s Day and had a really great time.  The painting was called “Love Tree”, for obvious reasons.  I was surprised to see so many men there, but it was a predominantly Valentine’s Day theme, so, I’m sure many of the guys were forced into it.  I did see one couple in particular, where the guy was just observing his SO painting and didn’t seem to be much preoccupied with anything else.  Anyways, since I’m not really a fan of Valentine’s Day, to spend an evening doing something crafty with my best friend was all I could have asked for this year!  We also sat at a table with a cool, trendy Christian couple and had a lot of fun talking and joking with them.

Here’s how it went:

At each table there was an easel with an unpainted canvas, an assortment of brushes, and a plate with all the primary/secondary colors and white.  Oh, and of course, a cup of water.  On the canvas, as shown to the right, the basic picture is sketched in pencil, so it’s like a paint-by-number without the numbers.  I wasn’t sure how I would feel about that, but it was really nice.

The artist (I forget her name! boo) was really great at helping us through the process.  It’s been ages since I’ve painted on canvas, so getting the pointers was really helpful.  Like, wetting your brush before blending colors.  When I paint on wood, that’s not helpful, because then it thins out the color which means I have to do multiple coats and if it’s a blended color, I don’t always have a lot of it.  But this tip was good for both surfaces: Start from the furthest area “back” and come forward.  Basically, start with the background and build on top of it. I usually do this when I paint on wood, but I wasn’t thinking about it for canvas.

So we built and built and painted and painted and blended and blended.  At this point, we took a “break” and were able to eat some of the yummy hors d’oeuvres they were serving; chocolate-covered strawberries, meatballs, veggies. 

By the way, they serve wine and such in the evenings.  If you’re not savvy to that, they also have pop available (not a huge selection, but good enough).  They also have a kids class called “Canvas & Cocoa” which is in the afternoons on Saturdays, with age-appropriate paintings with a drink/snack served as well. 

I’ve also seen a “Canvas & Causes” class posted on their calendar where certain amount of the class fee goes to a good cause.  The painting seems to be related to the cause. 

While we were painting, the artist/teacher was painting along with us, at pace, so we could see technique, ask questions about brush selection and blending, etc.  What I really enjoyed about the class is that everyone was of a different level of ability.  No one was excluded.  Also, you could choose whatever colors you wanted, and the style of painting could be whatever you felt most comfortable with, or maybe thought would best fit your home decor.  She coached but didn’t dictate or criticize.  I felt like I was back in any of my high school art classes where creativity and exploration was encouraged and only technique was taught. 

Oh, and if you’re worried about drying time, don’t be.  They have blow-dryers handy to help you get your painting nice and dry for the ride home. (Acrylic paint is a quick dry-er anyways) 🙂

I am fully expecting to go back sometime.  My only negative is the cost.  $35 for one class, and as far as I could tell, that didn’t include the drinks. (I had to pay for my Coca-Cola.)  So, here’s the breakdown:

The class:  Really fun. Casual. Definitely felt like an art studio.  Our class was scheduled to go from 6:30p-8p. I don’t think we left until a little before 10p.  But they were gracious hosts and didn’t make us feel rushed or try to shove us out the door.
The food: For hors d’oeuvres, excellent.  Just don’t go expecting them to take care of a meal.  You’re there to PAINT not dine!
The help: Everyone there was great.  The artist/teacher, it was apparently her first night, and she did a wonderful job!  Whenever we needed something, extra paint, another plate, more water, a paper-towel, etc, they were quick to get it to us.
The parking: It’s in a strip-mall across from Kroger and there is lots and lots of parking in the lot there.
The accommodations: The room is narrow but it’s easy to get yourself around the table to the food, drinks, restroom.  I was sitting pretty close to the artist/teacher, so I didn’t have any problems seeing.  I didn’t check from other parts of the room though.
The price: For the adult class, it’s kind of pricey, by my scale.  $35 for adult classes. $17.50 for Canvas & Cocoa.  There is also the option to schedule a private party, but there are no pricings available on the site for that.
Returnability:  It was a lot of fun.  And if I see a really wonderful painting on their calendar, I may fork over the moolah, if I have extra in my budget.  But really, to go back on a regular basis, it’s more than my budget of a post-college grad paying off student loans.  I’m more open to the Canvas & Cocoa though…so long as I can kidnap a kid to take with me. 🙂

from the Paint by the Glass Facebook Page (click picture to view)